Goats/very sick goat

QuestionQUESTION: Hi Donna, i have a 6 year old momma goat, the other evening was shivering, but was eating fine. In the morning she was flat out , i managed to get her up and staggering she ate her grain drank some electrolytes mollasses. Wasn't very long she went down and i dosed with what i had Pen G. I think she has pneumonia so yesterday i got some Nuflur and started treatment. Didn't look good , and i noticed she had abdominal pain, like heaves, her tail would wag very fast and clear droul, fluid coming from her mouth. Then she laid her head on her side and her eyes started twitching, i was sure that was it. I checked on her 2 hours later expecting the worst and her head was up and alert although very weak. I decided to give her asperin for the pain and probiotics, which she took willingly. She also ate some hay and a bit of grain along with a fair amount of electrolytes. Wasn't long and again she was in a lot of pain and very sick. By this morning she wanted to eat again, and again very sick. So i decided she may be plugged up although she did pass stole last night but very hard poop. I gave an enama and 1/2 cup milk of magnesia. After a while the enama kicked in and she passed more poop. It's the pain spasems i don't get??? I'M TRYING ANOTHER ENAMA AND MORE MIL;K OF MAGNESIA NOW. Her rumin is active and seems very hard to the touch. I did a massage of the area and i can hear a lot of gas noise there, but seems to soften the contents. She has had her second shot of nuflur, the cycle continues. Right now she wants to eat but every spasm there is clear fluid coming??? Help please.

ANSWER: Would use penicillin G - Nuflur never helps that I have seen. Give intramuscularly. Sounds like she has both polio - needs vitamin B 1 - thiamin - or 8 tablets of vitamin B complex crushed and dissolved in a little hot water - every 4 hours until she is eating well again. Would also continue with aspirin at one 325 mg human aspirin per 75 pounds body weight every 4 hours for possible fever/seizures. Need to crush the aspirin and dissolve too. Can use milk of magnesia just in case. The spasm and clear fluid sounds like polio - needs lots of the vitamin B1 and probiotics and if she is not eating needs a mush or molasses and human cooked oats thinned out so you can orally drench her with it. Hope this helps - Donna

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QUESTION: Hi Donna, is polio contagious to the others? She is in a separate pen. Just took her temp stable at 101, the spasms seem to be easing off. Not sure about this, I have Iron injectable will this help at all? If not I will have to go get some B 1. She is eating but very picky, taking a lot of fluids though, electrolytes with a bit of molasses she really likes this. So I had just given the second Nuflur injection, should I switch to penicillin and begin this evening or wait till tomorrow morning?

AnswerNo, polio is not contagious - polio is a secondary disease that occurs when a goat is not eating well, loss of B1/thiamine causes neurologic issues that she seems to have. Do you have any vitamin B complex tabs? If so these have B1 in them. Glad she is drinking. I would start the penicillin as time as the next injection of Nuflur is due. Hope that helps - Donna

Expertise

Experience

27 years health care/nutrition of all types of goats, 17 years experience in packgoats, 20 years experience in 4H goat projects as leader, superintendent and judge. 20 years experience in putting on goat care/nutrition seminars.